May 9, 2022

Scotland and UAE: Plans Unveiled to Better Connect Space Industries (Source:  AstroAgency)
Globally focused strategic space marketing firm AstroAgency, headquartered in Edinburgh, has announced it will team up with a Dubai-based space investment and advisory company AzurX, to support space businesses in both regions, access new development opportunities and forge collaborative partnerships.

The two organizations boast a global space client base. AzurX and AstroAgency previously collaborated on a strategic project to support the Scottish Government and its agencies, delivering the Scottish Space Day at Expo 2020 Dubai. The firms recognized an opportunity to build upon the foundations created by the event, which benefitted a host of Scottish space stakeholders, including Prestwick Spaceport, Trade in Space and Skyrora, that took part in a delegation to meet with potential partners and investors in the UAE. (5/9)

Japanese Radar Constellation iQPS Selects Virgin Orbit for 2023 Launch (Source: Space Daily)
Virgin Orbit has signed a launch services agreement with Japanese earth observation constellation operator Institute for Q-shu Pioneers of Space, Inc. ("iQPS"). The satellite is expected to join Virgin Orbit's manifest for early 2023.

Selected for LauncherOne's proven ability to provide direct access to diverse orbits, Virgin Orbit expects to launch the QPS-SAR-5 satellite into a tailored mid-inclination orbit to allow iQPS to expand the coverage of its constellation and revisit rate. By directly injecting the QPS-SAR-5 into the desired orbit on iQPS's schedule, LauncherOne's flexibility should allow for iQPS to rapidly commission the QPS-SAR-5 and begin collecting information from areas of key interest to its customers. (5/8)

Intelsat Appoints New Executives (Source: Space News)
Intelsat appointed several new executives last week to guide the satellite operator as it emerges from bankruptcy protection. Anthony O'Brien, a former chief financial officer at Raytheon, was appointed to the same role at Intelsat. Intelsat also named Jeff Sare, previously vice president at Panasonic Avionics, as president of its commercial aviation division. Those and other changes come a month after former Raytheon executive David Wajsgras took over as CEO. (5/9)

China's Deep Blue Accomplishes Vertical Rocket Landing (Source: Space News)
Chinese startup Deep Blue Aerospace conducted a vertical takeoff and landing test, flying a vehicle to an altitude of one kilometer. The test, performed Friday by the Nebula M1 vehicle, saw the vehicle take off, fly to the designated altitude and then land within half a meter of the center of its landing pad.

The landing in the video released by the company is obscured by dust thrown up by engine thrust, but the company claims the test was successful. Future tests to altitudes of 10 and 100 kilometers will be conducted using a new test stage on the same scale as the full-scale Nebula-1 rocket, whose first orbital launch is planned before the end of 2024. (5/9)

FAA and NTSB Discussing Space Transportation Accident Investigation Roles (Source: Space News)
The FAA and NTSB say they are talking with each other on roles in commercial spaceflight investigations. The discussions were prompted by a proposed rule the NTSB published last year outlining how it would investigate launch and reentry accidents by commercial vehicles, a rule widely criticized by the industry as well as the FAA as duplicating existing FAA regulations.

In a letter to the House Science Committee, the chair of NTSB said last week that NTSB and FAA were in discussions about updating an existing agreement between the agencies, and that the NTSB would issue a supplemental proposed rule for further public comment before issuing a final rule. At an advisory committee last week, the FAA confirmed it had "good conversations" with the NTSB about updating that agreement. (5/9)

Sofia's Termination Recommended in Decadal Survey (Source: Space News)
The latest effort to terminate NASA's SOFIA airborne observatory is different this time, agency officials say, because of the recommendations of the decadal survey. At a town hall meeting last week, NASA noted that the astrophysics decadal survey released last November called on shutting down SOFIA because its high cost could not be justified by the science it produced. Congress also endorsed all the recommendations of the decadal survey in the report accompanying the fiscal year 2022 omnibus spending bill in March. Keeping SOFIA operating affects other astrophysics programs, the agency said. (5/9)

Astra Awaits FAA License for Next Three Launches From Cape Canaveral Spaceport (Source: Space News)
Astra says it is ready to start launching a set of NASA cubesats as soon as it gets an FAA license. The company plans three launches of its Rocket 3.3 vehicle from Cape Canaveral starting later this quarter, each carrying two TROPICS Earth science cubesats. The company said the vehicles are ready and it is waiting on an FAA license that it expects to receive in the next few weeks. Astra cautioned that it's unlikely to perform all three launches this quarter as previously planned. The company is planning an event this Thursday to show its expanded factory and discuss plans for its next, larger launch vehicle. (5/9)

Astra Has Sold 61 Satellite Electric Thrusters (Source: Space Intel Report)
Startup small-launch service provider Astra Space Inc. said it has booked firm orders for 61 electric-propulsion Astra Constellation Engines (ACEs) from multiple customers, with the sales pipeline healthy since the engine’s successful functioning in orbit in August 2021. Astra acquired Apollo Fusion, the startup that designed the Hall effect ACE engines for satellite orbit-raising, last year. (5/9)

Momentus Approved by FAA, FCC and NOAA for Launching Vigoride Tug (Source: Space News)
Momentus announced it received all the approvals needed for the first launch of its space tug later this month. The company said it got a favorable FAA payload review last week after getting FCC and NOAA licenses for its Vigoride tug, and that the hardware is now in Florida to be integrated onto a Falcon 9 for the Transporter-5 launch late this month. Momentus was unable to get payload reviews on two occasions last year because of national security concerns linked to its Russian co-founders, who are no longer with the company. (5/9)

NASA Loses and Regains Contact with Ingenuity Helicopter on Mars (Source: NASA)
NASA's Ingenuity Mars helicopter has encountered power issues. The helicopter missed a communications session earlier last week, but controllers restored contact with it Thursday. The helicopter went into a low-power state because of colder temperatures and a decrease in solar power due to dust in the atmosphere. Controllers have lowered the temperature at which the helicopter turns on heaters as a means to reduce power consumption and allow it to recharge its batteries. They hope that will allow Ingenuity to return to normal operations in several days. (5/9)

Report: Pentagon Culture Resists Commercial Space (Source: C4ISRnet)
DoD's failure to look at commercial options for small satellite launches is undermining US security, according to an Atlantic Council report. The report cites a "negative culture" at the Pentagon for leveraging commercially available launch services. “There is an established culture that ignores legislated ‘commercial first’ mandates, and that behavior has become increasingly detrimental to national security interests,” according to the report. “Over the last decade, this negative culture has eroded U.S. space superiority and will continue to do so as the world moves toward quickly developed and deployed low-cost commercial space systems.” (5/9)

SpaceKids Global Announces National Essay Competition Winners (Source: SpaceKids Global)
On National Space Day, SpaceKids Global, a Florida-based national nonprofit organization dedicated to educating elementary students in STEAM+ (science, technology, engineering, art, mathematics and environment), announced the winners of the 2022 National Essay Competition: Milan (5th grade) of Los Angeles, CA, and Brian (6th grade) of Hamburg, NY.

Milan and Brian will fly in a once-in-a-lifetime Zero-G Experience ($8,200+ value). Flights occur across the country in Fort Lauderdale, Las Vegas, Seattle, Austin, Long Beach, New York, and Washington, D.C., and Milan and Brian will experience the space-like flight at a location near them. (5/9)